The 2020/21 Premier League campaign has been a season unlike any other with no fans packing into the stadium for the most part, but still producing plenty of outstanding individual performances and hair-raising moments. As this extraordinary Premier League season comes to a close this weekend with Machester City crowned champions and with the final round of matches played on Sunday, here are our Man’s Life Awards for 2020/21.
Player of the Year
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Ruben Dias has been a revelation for Manchester City this season and has made the biggest impact on the team that eventually won the title. Dias transformed this Manchester City team into the best defence in the country and it was this solidity at the back – rather than their free-flowing attack – that won them the title. Dias is the lynchpin that holds this Manchester City defence together and his presence makes everyone around him better. Despite being only 24, the Portuguese star assumed most of the leadership responsibilities for Guardiola’s side and has managed a level of consistency and quality this season that makes it very difficult to give anyone else the player of the year award.
Young Player of the Year
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Mason Mount, Bukayo Saka and Declan Rice have all had outstanding seasons with their respective clubs but the standout young player of the season has been Phil Foden. The biggest compliment you can probably give the Englishman is that among all the multi-million-pound stars and world-class talents available to Pep Guardiola, Phil Foden is one of the first names on the team sheet. The mercurial talent has 8 goals and 5 assists in only 16 starts this season and his performances have proved that he is no longer the future for Manchester City and England, his time is now.
Coach of the Year
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Pep Guardiola deserves all the plaudits in the world for transforming this Manchester City side into Champions without playing a striker for the majority of the season, but the manager who has achieved the most, considering the squad at his disposal is David Moyes. The Scotsman has transformed this West Ham side that were one of the favourites to be relegated into a team that is competing for the Champions League places and are above “Big Clubs” like Arsenal and Tottenham on the table. Lesser-known players such as Tomas Soucek, Vladimir Coufal and Jarrod Bowen among others, have thrived under Moyes this season and the Hammers have been the biggest surprise of the season because of his excellent management.
Goal of the Year
In terms of outrageous skill and ability, nothing beats Erik Lamela’s outstanding rabona against arch-rivals Arsenal in the North London Derby. But the Man’s Life Goal of the Year goes to Alisson – yes, recency bias is a thing – for his outstanding last-minute winner against West Brom. No goal left us more awestruck and lost for words than the Brazilian’s bullet header past Sam Johnstone straight into the top corner. 95th minute, a must-win game in Liverpool’s quest for Champions League football and their goalkeeper comes up with a winner that saves their season, it doesn’t get better than that!
Match of the Year
No match summed up this crazy extraordinary season like the day Aston Villa – the team that narrowly escaped relegation last season – stunned the defending champions with a 7-2 victory. This wasn’t the Liverpool team that was struggling with injuries and form, it was a full-strength side that had just been crowned champions and boasted the likes of Van Dijk, Joe Gomez and new signing Diogo Jota. Ollie Watkins scored a first-half hat-trick, Jack Grealish had 4 goals and assists and at the end of the game, you were left scratching your eyes, wondering if any of it was real.
[Image Credit: Premier League]
Shivaan Shah